And Today Was A Day Just Like Any Other
by accioamber
Summary: That day…was a day just like every other day they’d ever had. House and Wilson were on their way back to his office from the lunchroom that first day House met Jake.OOC ON HIATUS! PM me with ideas...


Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own anything from House, M.D. or anything. As much as you probably thought I was David Shore's daughter and had partial ownership of them, you were wrong. OK, yeah. :)

A/N: Thanks for reading…welcome to a new House story! This idea came to me in an epiphany when I was watching the commentary on the eppy "Autopsy" from season two. A little bit along those lines, well the terminal illness part, so that part was thought up by the writers, too. I thought it would be cute to really see House connect with a patient, esp. a young one. OK, so breaks will be HOUSEHOUSEHOUSE. R&R please!

HOUSEHOUSEHOUSE 

That day…was a day just like every other day they'd ever had. House and Wilson were on their way back to his office from the lunchroom that first day House met Jake. Wilson was holding a Styrofoam cup of coffee and House was preparing to toss back a Vicodin when he heard a tiny voice say, "Hi, Dr. Wilson!"

The voice was bright and eager. It was the voice you would expect to hear from an excited kid who just woke up from a nap, jazzed and ready to continue their day in the land of the living. The voice belonged to a little boy who was sitting up eagerly in his bed, waving frantically at Wilson and smiling a huge, messy grin.

Wilson smiled and waved at the tiny boy in the bed behind the glass wall. He turned to House and said, "Mind if we stop for a minute?"

House slowly shook his head no and followed him into the room.

"Hey there, Jake." Wilson said, holding out his hand for the boy to slap, which he eagerly did. "How's it going?"

"I'm ok. Bored. Will you play cards with me?" The boy looked curiously at House. "Who's that?" He asked Wilson of House.

Wilson said, "Jake, this is Dr. House." To House, he said, "This is Jake Ellman."

House gave a slight nod to him.

"Hi. Guess what? I've got umm…what do I got, Dr. Wilson?" Jake asked Wilson in the same eager puppy voice as he usually used.

Wilson's expression became a bit pained and he said softly, "You have cancer, Jake."

"Oh, yeah! That's what Dr. Wilson told my mommy and daddy before they went away. I think that's why they went away, 'cause they don't like that I've got cancer. I think they're mad at me. What's wrong with your leg? Does it hurt? Are you ok?" He paused and took a deep breath. "Dr. Wilson, will you play cards with me? I'm bored."

"Aww, Jake, I'm sorry. I have a patient I have to see in a few moments, like you. But maybe I can later, ok?" Wilson said, ruffling Jake's fine brown hair.

"OK. Maybe later." He sighed.

House, meanwhile, had just been staring at this rather, well, remarkable little boy, a bit taken aback. He hadn't answered the leg question because, well, for two reasons. One, Jake hadn't given him a chance. And two, it was a personal question, and he didn't like talking about it that much.

"Me and Dr. House have gotta go now, Jake, but I'll see you later." Wilson ruffled Jake's hair once more and nodded at House. They made their way out of the room.

As Wilson was sliding the door shut, Jake called, "Bye, Dr. House!"

House didn't say anything and just kept walking with Wilson.

"God, I always feel terrible about myself after talking with that kid. I always feel like…like I don't appreciate who I am or what I have or anything." Wilson said.

"What's he got?" House asked, not commenting on anything else Wilson had said.

"Oh, boy. He's got Juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia."

"Wow. What's up with his mom and dad?" House asked.

"I could just…his parents. I could just kill them." Wilson said angrily. "His mom and dad found out about how bad his cancer was and decided they couldn't 'deal with it'. They said they couldn't stand losing a child and they couldn't deal with a long tragic illness, so they relinquished custody to the state. I mean, come on, he's five years old! Because he's too sick to go into a foster home at the moment, he has to stay here. Last week they appointed _me_ as his medical proxy. Can you believe that? Me." Wilson said in an astounded voice.

"That's…intense." House said. "Bye." House walked into his office and picked up his ball and started tossing it up in the air.

Wilson stood in the hallway for a few minutes, hardly believing the conversation he'd just had with House. He couldn't believe that after that whole tale, about parents affectively giving up their child because they couldn't deal with it, and all House said was "That's intense." Wilson had almost cried when he'd heard the parents decision.

But, he realized, House was House. And he wasn't going to change.

HOUSEHOUSEHOUSE 

House watched as Wilson made his way back to his office to wait for his next patient to arrive. He tossed the ball back in the air for a few more minutes, all the while thinking about the kid. _Jake_, he thought.

Most of the time, House could give a crap about anyone but himself. He couldn't really make himself happy, so what was the point in trying to make anyone else? Why care if you couldn't do anything about it?

But this Jake kid…for some reason, House found himself drawn to him. It was odd. House found it odd that he was giving a crap about someone other than himself.

He still found it odd when he found himself outside the kid's hospital room a half hour later.

He slid the door open and saw Jake jump.

"Oh, it's you. Hi, Dr. House. Where's Dr. Wilson? Is something wrong? Why are you here?" he asked. He left House's head reeling with a multitude of unanswered questions.

House swallowed and didn't answer the questions. He nodded at the pack of cards sitting on the bedside table.

"Do you want to play cards?"

A smile lit up Jake's face and he nodded happily.

**HOUSEHOUSEHOUSE**

A/N: What do you think? R&R please:)


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